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Honoring HLAA’s Finest!

HLAA 2022 Awards Ceremony

BY CARLA BEYER-SMOLIN

After a two-year pause, we were thrilled to honor HLAA National, State, and Chapter award recipients in person. Deanna P. Baker, RMR, FAPR, Arizona, received our highest honor, the Rocky Stone Humanitarian Award, in recognition of her career-long dedication to ensuring that persons with hearing loss have access to high-quality captioning and her outstanding support of HLAA.

HLAA Board Vice Chair Michael Meyer with Deanna P. Baker (pictured)

HLAA congratulates our 2022 Award Recipients, who were recognized on Friday, June 24, 2022 at the HLAA 2022 Convention in Tampa.

For more information about award recipients, visit: https://www.hearingloss.org/awards-program/

Joseph C. Duarte, Virginia, received the Lifetime Achievement Award for his dedicated efforts in ensuring communication access for people with hearing loss in tech- nology installations, his captioning access efforts with the InnoCaption application, and his outstanding technical assistance and support to HLAA.

Karen Peltz-Strauss, Esq., D.C., received the National Access Award for her steadfast efforts in telecommunications access for people with hearing loss.

Google was given the Innovation Award for its ground-breaking and inclusive efforts in providing captioning access to people with hearing loss with their ecosystem of applications.

The Outstanding Employer of the Year Award went to DTE Energy, Michigan for creating an accessible environment for their employees with hearing loss to thrive.

Virtual Ambassador Awards was a new category created to thank individual, chapter and state leader recipients for their efforts in bringing the HLAA community together online during the pandemic, including the Florida State Association. Chapter recipients included the Whatcom County Chapter, Washington, for the Chapter on a Mission Award and the Indianapolis Chapter, Indiana for the Up and Coming Chapter Award.

LAA Executive Director Barbara Kelley with Joseph C. Duarte
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Karen Peltz-Strauss, Esq., with HLAA Director of Public Policy Lise Hamlin

HLAA Board Chair Kevin Franck with Dimitri Kanevsky, Ph.D., recipient on behalf of Google

HLAA Director of Development Marilyn DiGiacobbe and Susan Sullivan of DTE Energy

Debbe Hagner, President, HLAA Florida State Association

HLAA Board Member Ib Dabo with Teresa Gonzalez

HLAA Leaders Luncheon and Chapter Workshops

More than 50 chapter and state leaders gathered at the HLAA Leaders Luncheon to get connected and reunited with fellow leaders. Two chapter workshops were offered and presented by local HLAA Florida leaders, Tanya Williams, Florida state chapter coordinator and Eloise Schwarz, president, Sun City Chapter.

Holly Cohen, Roxana Rotundo and Shari Eberts received the Virtual Ambassador Award for supporting HLAA Virtual Meetings.

Carla Beyer-Smolin is HLAA’s chapter and membership coordinator.
Email Carla: cbeyer-smolin@hearingloss.org